Energy and Environment

Christine Bader, visiting scholar and lecturer at Columbia University, Marcus Noland, executive vice president and director of studies at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, andAnn M. Veneman, former executive director at UNICEF and former U.S. secretary of agriculture, join Peter H. Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council to dicuss their experiences with agriculture and extractive industries in resource-rich developing countries.

Christine Bader, visiting scholar and lecturer at Columbia University, Marcus Noland, executive vice president and director of studies at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, andAnn M. Veneman, former executive director at UNICEF and former U.S. secretary of agriculture, join Peter H. Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council to dicuss their experiences with agriculture and extractive industries in resource-rich developing countries.

Christine Bader, visiting scholar and lecturer at Columbia University, Marcus Noland, executive vice president and director of studies at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Ann M. Veneman, former executive director at UNICEF and former U.S. secretary of agriculture, join Peter H. Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council to dicuss their experiences with agriculture and extractive industries in resource-rich developing countries.

The Wall Street Journal asks Michael Levi and Andrew P. Morriss whether the U.S. should act unilaterally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Levi answers “yes,” arguing that cutting greenhouse gas emissions now would enhance public health and the international credibility of the United States, and that reasonable action now would reduce long-term costs.

The recent U.S.-China climate deal has inspired both celebration and skepticism. Michael Levi responds to each, noting that while the terms of the agreement are in themselves insufficient to reign in global warming, the deal is a “genuine success” as diplomatic progress toward reducing climate risk.

Fellow Michael Levi, CFR's senior fellow for energy and the environment and director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, discusses the new U.S.-China bilateral agreement to cut carbon emissions and the deal's implications for global climate policy.

Fellow Michael Levi, CFR's senior fellow for energy and the environment and director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, discusses the new U.S.-China bilateral agreement to cut carbon emissions and the deal's implications for global climate policy.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the 2014 meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and released a climate change agreement on November 11, 2014. The agreement includes each country's goals for cutting carbon emissions. In 2013, the two countries also signed an agreement to reducing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), emissions that deplete ozone layers.

Shannon K. O'Neil, CFR's senior fellow for Latin America studies, discusses the North American Free Trade Agreement at twenty and policy recommendations for the region, as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.

While oil prices over the last three years were the smoothest in decades, volatility is back and here to stay argue Michael Levi and Robert McNally. Levi and McNally explain how price fluctuations, rather than high prices, endanger global economic growth.

The United States should consider joining the new China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a means of guaranteeing that it matches financing strength with sustainable environmental practices, says Elizabeth Economy.

As oil prices continue to drop, Michael Levi argues that the benefit to American consumers will outweigh any damage to the U.S. economy. However, how you view this plunge in oil prices "depends a lot on where you live and what work you do."

The 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap details how climate change affects the Department of Defense's operations, how the department will adapt to and mitigate climate change threats, and how the department will coordinate with other entities addressing climate change. The Department of Defense first listed climate change as a threat to national security in its 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review.

2015 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2015 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »